COLUMN: Five things to watch

This weekend will be a good one to be a couch potato. In addition to college football and pro football, there are some pretty nice college hoops matchups on tap.

If you're going to spend the better part of your weekend in a sedentary state, make sure to at least exercise before plopping down and making an indentation in your sofa or recliner.

Here are 5 things to watch this weekend:

1. No. 11 Cincinnati at No. 21 Xavier, Saturday, noon (FS1). Two of college basketball's elite teams are three miles apart, and the proximity fuels the animosity when these two teams meet.

Six years ago, a game ended in an on-court brawl, and the series changed its name from "Crosstown Shootout" to "Crosstown Classic" and was briefly played at a neutral location and not on campus.

The Bearcats (7-0) and Musketeers (6-1) are playing for more than bragging rights. They are playing for national prestige. Though Cincinnati historically has had much more success, Xavier has had some recent success; it advanced to the NCAA regional finals last season.

The Musketeers have won three of the last four in the rivalry, and the Bearcats haven't won at Xavier since 2001.

2. Philadelphia Eagles (10-1) at Seattle Seahawks (7-4), Sunday, 8:30 p.m. (NBC). The Eagles are clear favorites, but history hasn't been on their side in this series dating back to 2005. The Seahawks, who really need to win to remain in the playoff picture, have won five of the last six games between the teams, including 26-15 last season in Seattle.

Carson Wentz was a rookie, and the Eagles struggled mightily on defense all season long en route to a 7-9 record. Wentz will match his quarterback skills with tried and tested Russell Wilson, who is lacking run support and has had to shoulder much of the workload this season.

Philadelphia's run game has improved with the addition of LeGarrette Blount and Jay Ajayi. Throw in a dangerous receiving corps and things don't look like they will be the same as last year.

3. No. 8 Ohio State (10-2) vs. No. 4 Wisconsin (12-0), Saturday, 8 p.m. (FOX). I wonder if an Ohio State fan will hold up a "59-0" sign at the Big Ten Championship? That was the final score of the 2014 title game won by the Buckeyes and was the springboard to their national championship season in the first year of the College Football Playoffs.

Wisconsin lost to Penn State in the 2016 Big Ten championship game.

The Badgers are undefeated but untested. Their best opponent was then-No. 21 Michigan two weeks ago. Ohio State has the third-best strength of schedule among Division I team, while Wisconsin's is ranked 45th.

Not many teams circle the wagons in big games like the Buckeyes. All the pressure seems to be on the Badgers, who despite their record, have much to prove to those who doubt their prowess.

4. No. 6 Georgia (11-1) vs. No. 2 Auburn (10-2), Saturday, 4 p.m. (CBS). I wonder is an Auburn fan will hold up a "40-17" sign at the Southeastern Conference Championship? That was the final score of a game played just three weeks ago in Auburn.

Two weeks later, the Tigers beat then-No. 1 Alabama and were rewarded by the College Football Playoff committee, who jumped Auburn four spots in the rankings despite having two losses.

The rivalry is one of the oldest in America. Georgia leads the all-time series 57-56 and there have been eight ties.

Of course, the Tigers' motivation won't be to win the game to tie the series. A win punches Auburn's ticket to the playoffs. A Georgia win accomplishes the same for the Bulldogs.

5. No. 7 Miami (10-1) vs. No. 1 Clemson (11-1), Saturday, 8 p.m. (ABC). OK, you'll have to flip from one game to the other. But at least you can have it both ways, right?

This Atlantic Coast Conference title game is similar to the SEC championship in that the winner will be in the playoffs. That means the loser will be out but will still play a bowl game somewhere.

There isn't much history between the two teams, unless you look back to Clemson's 58-0 destruction of Miami two years ago. Things have changed in South Florida, including the arrival of former Georgia coach Mark Richt, who has turned the program around in a hurry.

The teams have played only 10 times, including five since Miami joined the ACC in 2004.

Clemson is the prohibitive favorite on Saturday night. Miami, which lost to unranked Pittsburgh a week ago, hasn't been dominant but it hasn't beaten itself — at least until last Saturday.

Contact Lee Goodwin at 717-762-2151, lgoodwin@therecordherald.com or on Twitter: @LeeG_RH

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